1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic still camera, and more particularly, to an electronic still camera that digitizes the photographed picture and records it to a recording medium, such as a memory card.
2. Description of Related Art
With an electronic still camera, photographed picture data is recorded onto a recording medium such as a memory card after it has been digitized. Because the recording medium will have to be larger if the picture data is recorded in its current state, some type of compression is usually performed to record the picture data in compressed form.
However, a moderate difference appears in the size of the compressed data, according to the compression method, in cases in which the photographed picture is monotonous or in which it is detailed and complex. Because of this, unlike a normal camera that uses silver chloride film, with an electronic still camera, it is difficult to determine how many frames may be recorded onto the recording medium. Conventionally, the number of frames is displayed only at the completion of photography, or a guess is made as to the recording capacity at frame 1, and the available capacity on the recording medium is divided by the assumed recording capacity at frame 1 to calculate the number of frames remaining that can be photographed, and only the estimated number of frames can be displayed.
However, even if only the number of the frames at the completion of photography is displayed, the photographer cannot know how many frames may still be photographed, since the number of frames that may be recorded onto the recording medium has not been accurately set. Particularly, it is difficult to try to accurately guess the number of frames that may be recorded, because the available recording capacity in the recording medium sometimes differs.
Also, when the number of frames remaining that can be photographed is calculated and only that value is displayed, the calculated value will be no more than an approximation, because the recording capacity required for the first frame will vary according the picture being photographed, as described above. Thus, for example, if the recording capacity required for photographing the object being photographed is known in advance, it is sometimes more desirable to indicate the available capacity in the recording medium than to indicate the number of frames remaining that can be photographed.
Whichever method is used, it is still difficult, using conventional electronic still cameras, to indicate to the photographer how many more frames may be photographed. Hence, information is required that is more easily understood.